Trapezoidal pallet for parts



March 11, 1969 R. M. NAYLOR ET AL 3,431,870

TRAPEZOIDAL PALLET FOR PARTS Filed March 20, 1967 Sheet of TI FIG. 2

l l l I 25 NJ i Fi .5 2 +22 M q jzs INVENTORS ATTORNEYS March 11, 1969NAYLOR ET AL 3,431,870

TRAPEZOIDAL PALLET FOR PARTS Filed March 20, 1967 Sheet 2 of S INVENTOR5 2086-27 M. IVA/40B #6395619? cnkmvrfgJg ATTORNEYS March 11, 1969 R. M.NAYLOR ET AL 3,431,870

'I'RAPEZOIDAL PALLET FOR PARTS Sheet Filed March 20, 1967 FIG. 9

FIG 9 INVENTORS @0559 r M. M4 74 0e #69864? L. ener y-12:4; -Te

ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,431,870 Patented Mar. 11, 19693,431,870 TRAPEZOIDAL PALLET FDR PARTS Robert M. Naylor, BerkeleyHeights, N.J., and Herbert L. Carpenter, in, Babylon, N.Y., assignors toThe Greif Bros. Qooperage Corporation, Lindenhurst, N.Y., a corporationof Ohio Filed Mar. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 624,488 US. Cl. 10855 6 ClaimsInt. Cl. 365d 19/44 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of theinvention In industry, it is often desirable to ship certain parts tothe location of final assembly or to store parts at the point of finaluse until needed. To facilitate the handling of these parts, pallets areoften used. The individual pallets containing a multiplicity of partscan be easily handled by means such as a forklift truck and the like.

However, with existing pallets, when the parts take certain shapes,there is waste space both in shipping and in storage. In particular,when the parts to be shipped are circular, such as drum closures, thisproblem is of great significance. The drum closures are stacked in anested manner forming circular columns of closures. The existing palletsare of circular or square configuration and only a minimum number ofcolumns of drum closures can be stacked thereon. In addition, when thesepallets are loaded on to a truck for shipping or placed in a storagearea, the shape of these pallets when placed next to one another,results in a large amount of unused space. This particular problem ismost obvious when a truck is loaded and unloaded. A large amount ofavailable space in a truck is unused thereby increasing the number oftrucks needed to transport a given number of parts which obviously willgreatly increase the cost of transportation.

In this respect, it will also be noted that a pallet which may bedisassembled after a shipment has been made also would provide a largesavings in shipping and storage space. The pallets could be disassembledand shipped back to the initial point of shipment in large numbers.Naturally, the disassembling and assembly of these pallets must beaccomplished quickly and efiiciently. It should be kept in mind that,although the pallet can be easily assembled and disassembled, it shouldbe sturdy so that it will not accidently come apart during shipping andhandling.

Summary the invention A pallet for holding parts during handling,shipping and storage is provided which includes a horizontal,trapezoidal shaped base and a horizontal, trapezoidal shaped coveraligned with the base, the base and cover being spaced by means of aplurality of upright members which are mounted to both the base and thecover. The base, cover and upright members together form a container forindustrial parts. The base is divided into two spaced trapezoidal parts,a top and a bottom, be-

tween which a handling device, such as a forklift truck may be placedfor use in transporting the loaded pallet. A trapezoidal configurationof the pallet is particularly useful for carrying circular parts such ascolumns of nested drum closures. As a result of the trapezoidalconfiguration of the pallet there is a significant savings in shippingspace and storage space required for the loaded pallets.

The principal objectives of this invention are provide a pallet forholding parts during shipping and storage which alleviate the abovementioned problems, among others, and, in particular, is of a shape andconfiguration which facilitates the eflicient shipping and storing ofparts, particularly circular parts such as columns of nested drumclosures. Also, this invention provides a pallet which may be easilyassembled and disassembled to facilitate the return of the pallets tothe initial shipping point after use for reuse. Means are also providedto insure stability of the pallet during shipping and handling of parts.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a partial sectional top viewof a truck carrying a plurality of pallets embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a pallet embodying this invention containing 3columns of nested drum closures;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of thereof;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view thereof taken along the plane of line 44 ofFIG. 3 with a center portion having been broken away and removed;

FIG. 5 is a top view thereof showing the arrangement of nested drumclosures having another diameter;

FIG. 6 is a top view thereof showing the arrangement of columns ofnested drum liners having still another diameter;

FIG. 7 is a top view thereof, showing the arrangement of columns ofnested drum liners having yet another diameter;

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional top view of a transportation or storagemedium containing two pallets of an alternate embodiment of theinvention with each pallet showing the arrangement of columns of nesteddrum liners of different diameters;

FIG. 9 is a top view of a pallet of the alternate embodiment of FIG. 8showing the arrangement of columns of nested drum liners having stillanother diam eter; and

FIG. 10 is a top view of the alternate embodiment of FIG. 8 showing thearrangement of columns of nested drum liners having yet anotherdiameter.

Description of the preferred embodiments As shown in FIGS. 2-4, thepallet 20 is comprised basically of three parts. There is a base 21,upright members 22, and cover 23. When these parts are connected, theyform a confined shipping area, or container, in which industrial partsmay be housed during shipment or storage. Although many different typesof industrial parts may be shipped and stored in this manner, thehandling of circular drum closures are of primary con cern. These drumclosures, 24, are generally stacked in a nested vertical fashion asdepicted in FIG. 3. Drum closures 24 rest on base 21 of pallet 20, andare held in position on the pallet by upright members 22 and cover 23.

Base 21 of pallet 20 includes a horizontal top portion 25, and ahorizontal bottom portion 26. Top portion 25 and bottom portion 26 maybe formed of any common supporting material, for example, plywood. Bothtop portion 25 and bottom portion 26 are trapezoidal in configurationand are similar in shape so that the sides of both parts may be aligned.

Cover 23 may be formed of the same material as top portion and bottomportion 26 and is also similar in shape and trapezoidal configuration sothat it may be vertically aligned with base 21. Cover 23 is kept inspaced relationship to base 21 by means of upright members 22. Verticalupright members 22 may be formed of any rigid material such as blackiron pipe. Cover 23 rests on the upper surface of upright members 22,which in turn extend through bores 27 in upper portion 25 and rest onbottom portion 26 of base 21. As depicted, four upright members 22 havebeen found to be satisfactory for retaining the columns of nested drumclosures, 24, on pallet 21 during shipment and storage. They are placedadjacent to each of the four corners of pallet 21. A support bar 28extends along a centrally located axis of pallet base 21 between bottomportion 26 and upper portion 25. Support bar 28 lends additional supportto pallet base 21 so that it may safely support the columns of drumclosures 24.

Naturally, upright members 22 must be connected to base 21 and cover 23so that they will not be displaced by shifting drum closures 24-; and inFIG. 4 an attachment is shown accomplishing this end. A nipple 29surrounds the entire surface of support member 22 which is between upperpoition 25 and lower portion 26 of base 21. Each support member 22 is insliding relationship to nipple 29 so that it may be vertically removedif desired. Nipple 29 may be formed of a similar material as supportmember 22 such as black iron pipe. Nipple 29 has a threaded outersurface portion 30 on both its upper and lower ends.

A plate 31 is fastened to the underside of top portion 27 and anotherplate 31 is fastened to the upper side of bottom portion 26. Bolts 32serve as an adequate fastening means. A cylindrical flange 33 is weldedto each plate in the base. Flange 33 has a threaded bore 34 which willengage with a threaded portion 30 of nipple 29. In this manner, nipple29 is fastened to both top portion 25 and bottom portion 26 of palletbase 21. Therefore, when an upright member 22 is placed within a nipple29, its only possible movement will be in an upward, vertical directionand before it can be displaced from base 21, it must be moved the entiredistance between bottom portion 26 and top portion 25.

Cover 23 is fixed on the top of upright member 22 in a similar manner.However, a nipple 29a is used having a threaded outer portion 30,adjacent only its upper surface. In a similar fashion to base 21, aflange 33 is welded to a plate 31 which in turn is bolted to cover 23.The threaded bore 34 of flange 33 is interengaged with threaded surface30 of nipple 29a. This holds nipple 29a to cover 23. Nipple 29a is insliding engagement with the upper portion of upright member 22, and whenplaced thereon forms a fixed cover for pallet 21. Before cover 23 can bedisplaced from the top of upright members 22, it must be displaced adistance equal to the length of nipple 29a which would take aconsiderable force.

However, in order to insure against displacement of cover 23, directlydue to violent motion during transportation of the loaded pallets, alocking pin 37 may be inserted through each nipple and support membercombination to prevent support members 22 from coming out of nipples 29or 2%. Two diametrically opposed openings 35 would be provided in eachnipple 29 and corresponding diametrically opposed openings 36 would beprovided in support member 22. Openings 35 and 36 would be positioned sothat they may be aligned when support member 22 is placed within nipple29. Locking pin 37 would then be inserted and may be shaped that when itis rotated 180 it cannot be displaced and subsequently when it isrotated another 180 it can be removed. Other common locking means may beemployed such as the use of a hook extending from the base or coverportions which would be positioned in openings in the nipple and uprightmembers to lock the upright members in position. When such a lockingdevice is used the pallet and cover are positively rei tained inposition thereby retaining the columns of nested drum closures 24 inposition.

When it is desirable to unload pallet 2% locking pin 37 may be rotatedand removed. Then cover 23 may be removed from upright members 22 whichin turn may be removed from pallet base 21. The drum closures are thenremoved and the pallet may be returned to the original shipping positionin disassembled form. This results in a great saving in shipping space.

One purpose of the top and bottom portions of base 21 is to provide ahandling space for handling means such as a forklift truck which may beinserted therebetween and the pallet easily lifted and transported to anew location.

The locking pin may be fastened by a chain to each nipple so that itwill always be available for reassembly of the pallet. Whatever means isused as a locking device, whether a pin, a hook arrangement or othermeans, it will be satisfactory if it is uncomplicated, always availableand able to stand abuse. It must provide a reasonable degree of tensionon the columns of nested drum closures.

The inherent trapezoidal shape of pallet 20, allows the maximum use ofsquare footage required for certain parts, particularly objects ofcircular cross section. In FIG. 2 and in FIGS. 5-7, it can be seen howcolumns of nested drum closures having different diameters could beplaced within pallet 20 to provide the most effective utilization ofspace. The manner in which trapezoidal pallet 20 can be loaded within atrailer truck is shown in FIG. 1. The trapezoidal dimensions are suchthat when the pallets are placed in opposite direction in truck loading,a pair of pallets will fit comfortably in the interior width of thetruck. Generally two tiers of pallets will fit within a truck.Therefore, with this effective utilization of space, there will be atremendous savings in transportation costs and in unloading costs. Agreat many more drum closures can be shipped in one truck and the easeof loading and unloading greatly reduces the time required andultimately the cost.

Being able to store the trapezoidal pallet side by side in the truckalso carries over to the storage of these pallets in a storage area. Themaximum amount of square footage is utilized per storage area. Forinstance, in plants where the suggested drum closures would be used, thepallets could be stacked in three layers. The eflicient utilization ofspace of the trapezoidal pallet serves to cut space requirementsapproximately in half.

I An alternate embodiment of the pallet is shown in FIGS. 8-10, and isdesignated as 20a. In this embodiment, one of the non-parallel sides ofthe trapezoidal shaped pallet is perpendicular to the parallel sides.This provides an increase in the amount of surface area per pallet andin addition maintains the trapezoidal configuration of the pallet tofacilitate the shipping and storage of pallets in adjacent position.This alteration in trapezoidal configuration shows that variousembodiments of this invention are possible and the embodiment mostuseful will depend upon, among other things, the particular shippingmeans or storage space being used to obtain the best results.

Thus, among others, the several aforenoted objects and advantages aremost effectively attained. Although UWO somewhat preferred embodimentsof the invention have been illustrated and described in detail herein,it should be understood that this invention is in no sense limitedthereby and its scope is to be determined by that of the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. A pallet for holding parts during handling, shipping, and storagewhich comprises: a horizontal trapezoidal shaped base, a plurality ofupright members resting on said base and extending upwardly therefrom, atrapezoidal shaped cover resting on the upper surface of said uprightmembers and being aligned with said base, means On said base and on saidcover to retain each of said upright members in fixed position therebyretaining at least one column of parts therebetween to facilitate thehandling, shipping, and storage thereof, said base including atrapezoidal shaped bottom portion and a trapezoidal shaped top portionwith a plurality of holes therein, said top portion being spaced fromsaid bottom portion and aligned therewith, said upright members restingon said bottom portion and extending through the holes in said topportion and extending upwardly therefrom, said means on said base andcover to retain each of said upright members in fixed position includinga first nipple slidably mounted on each upright member and surroundingthe outer surface of said upright member between the bottom and topportions of said base, said first nipple being threaded on its outersurface portion adjacent its upper and lower ends, a 'zfirst fasteningplate mounted on the top portion of the base and having a threaded boretherein which interengages with the threaded upper outer surface portionof said first nipple, a similar second fastening plate mounted on thebottom portion of said base and having a threaded bore therein whichinterengages with the threaded lower surface portion of said firstnipple, a second nipple surrounding the upper portion of said uprightmember in sliding relationship thereto and having a threaded upper outersurface portion, and a third fastening plate mounted on said cover andhaving a threaded bore therein which interengages with the upper outersurface portion of said second nipple thereby retaining each of saidupright members in fixed position.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein a looking means isprovided to lock each of said upright members in position.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 2 wherein said locking meanscomprises; said first nipple having a pair of diametrically opposedholes therein, said upright member having a first pair of diametricallyopposed holes aligned with the holes in said first nipple, a removablelocking pin inserted through said aligned holes to positively preventsaid upright member from vertically sliding relative to said firstnipple, said second nipple having a pair of diametrically opposed holestherein, said upright member having a second pair of diametricallyopposed holes alinged with the holes in said second nipple, and a secondremovable locking pin inserted through said aligned holes to positivelyprevent said upright member from vertically sliding relative to saidfirst nipple thereby providing a means to lock said upright member inposition.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein a support bar ispositioned along a horizontal centrally located axis of said basebetween the top and bottom portions thereof to provide additionalsupport for the top portion of said base when one or more columns ofparts are resting thereon.

5. A pallet for holding parts during handling, shipping, and storagewhich may be readily assembled and disassembled and which comprises: ahorizontal trapezoidal shaped base, a plurality of upright membersresting on said base and extending upwardly therefrom, a trapezoidalshaped cover resting on the upper surface of said upright members andbeing aligned with said base, means on said base and on said cover toretain each of said upright members in fixed position when assembledthereby retaining at least one column of parts therebetween tofacilitate the handling, shipping, and storage thereof, locking meansassociated with said pallet to lock each of said upright members inposition when said pallet is assembled, said locking means being easilyremovable to facilitate disassembly of said pallet after use, surfaceson said upright members and said base and surfaces on said uprightmembers and said cover forming at least one set of aligned keyways whensaid pallet is assembled, and said locking means including a removablelocking pin insertable in each set of said aligned keyways and thenshiftable to a locked position to lock said pallet in the assembledposition and shiftable to an unlocked position so as to be easilyremovable from said pallet thereby facilitating the disassembly of saidpallet after use.

6. The invention in accordance with claim 5 wherein one of thenon-parallel sides of each of the trapezoidal parts of said pallet formsa right angle with the two parallel sides.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,226,294 12/1940 Erickson 108-512,443,684 6/1948 Lazzarus 108-53 XR 2,523,271 10/1950 Bartel 108552,579,685 12/1951 Loose 10853 2,662,710 12/ 1953 Lapham 10852 2,828,9334/1958 De Pew, et a1 108-55 2,924,339 2/1960 Skubic 1O853 3,207,0959/1965 Hiatt 10853 3,208,606 9/1965 Epstein z 108-55 XR BOBBY R. GAY,Primary Examiner.

G. O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner.

